Box office game

ABSTRACT

In at least one aspect, methods and corresponding systems operable to perform the methods are provided herein that allow multiple players, registered and unregistered, to play a game wherein players submit predictions for box office revenue for a plurality of films and, in certain instances, are awarded points for the proximity of the prediction to actual revenues.

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/543,723 filed Aug. 19, 2019, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/974,757 filed Dec. 18, 2015 (now U.S. Pat. No.10,398,983), which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/104,166 filed Apr. 16, 2008 (now U.S. Pat. No. 9,218,720) whichclaims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/912,012, filedApr. 16, 2007, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated byreference herein in their entireties.

BACKGROUND

The present application relates to games, playable among a plurality ofplayers each attempting to achieve a greater score than another of theplayers.

SUMMARY

In at least one aspect, methods and corresponding systems operable toperform the methods are provided that include the step or steps of:receiving from a computing device associated with an unregistered playera prediction for a variable associated with each of a plurality offilms; generating a unique identifier automatically for the unregisteredplayer; causing a data file to be stored on the computing deviceassociated with the unregistered player, the data file comprising theunique identifier for the unregistered player; retrieving a result ofthe predictions for the unregistered player based on the uniqueidentifier stored in the data file; communicating the results to theunregistered player; receiving from a computing device associated with aregistered player a prediction for a variable associated with each of aplurality of films; retrieving a result of the predictions for theregistered player based on a unique identifier set by the registeredplayer; and communicating the results to the registered player. Variousvariables may be predicted, such as box office revenue for the film foran amount of time, such as opening weekend or the weekend followingopening weekend.

In at least one embodiment, the method further comprises communicating alist of a plurality of new releases and wherein the predictions from theunregistered and registered players are for each of the plurality of newreleases. The list may further include at least one holdover and whereinthe predictions from the unregistered and registered players are furtherfor the at least one holdover.

In at least one embodiment, the method further comprises determining ascore for the registered player based on the results of the predictionsfor the registered player, wherein the score is computed based on sum ofat least a first score applied to predictions within a first range of anactual value of the variable and a second score applied to predictionswithin a second range of the actual value of the variable.

In at least one embodiment, the method further comprises causing aninterface screen to be displayed at the computing device associated withthe unregistered and registered users, the interface screen comprising alisting of films and a form element adjacent to each of the films forthe players to specify their predictions.

In at least one embodiment, the method further comprises determining anaverage of predictions of a plurality of players and communicating theaverage to at least one of the unregistered and the registered players.

In at least one embodiment, the method further comprises communicatingonly to registered players a leader board comprising a listing of otherregistered players having a best score for a period of time.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 depicts a system according to at least one embodiment of thesystems disclosed herein; and

FIGS. 2-4 depict a plurality of interfaces according to at least oneembodiment of the methods and systems disclosed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIG. 1, a system 100 according to at least one embodimentof the systems disclosed herein includes at least one computing device,such as a remote computer 118, e.g., a server computer, a client device113, or a combination thereof. The computing device generally includesat least one processor 102, and a memory 104, such as ROM, RAM, FLASH,etc., or any computer readable medium 106, such as a hard drive, aflash-drive, an optical or magnetic disk, etc. The memory 104 orcomputer readable medium 106 preferably includes software stored thereonthat when executed performs one or more steps of the methods disclosedherein, including communicating data back and forth between devices,displaying interface screens, etc. The computing device may also beassociated with or have access to one or more databases for retrievingand storing the various types of data discussed herein.

In one embodiment, the system 100 includes a plurality of computingdevice, such as a remote computer 118 coupled to at least one clientdevice 113 over a communication network 116, which are generallyconfigured or otherwise capable of transmitting and/or receivingcommunications to and/or from each other. The term remote in thiscontext merely means that the remote computer 118 and the client device113 are separate from each other. Thus, the devices may be remote evenif the devices are located within the same room. As such, the clientdevice 113 is preferably configured or otherwise capable of transmittingand/or receiving communications to and/or from the remote computer 118.This may be accomplished with a communication element 124, such as amodem, an Ethernet interface, a transmitter/receiver, etc., that enablescommunication with a similarly equipped remote computer 118, wirelessly,wired, or a combination thereof. It is understood that the relativefunctionality described herein may be provided by the remote computer118, by the client device 113, or both, and is thus not limited to anyone implementation discussed herein.

The client devices 113 may include, without limitation, a mobile phone,PDA, pocket PC, personal computer, as well as any special or generalpurpose client device, such as a slot machine, a video poker machine,video or computer-based versions of table games, e.g., roulette,blackjack, etc. As such, the client device 113 preferably includes aprocessor 122, a memory 123, a display 125, such as a CRT or an LCDmonitor, for displaying information and/or graphics associated with theservices provided by the system 100, and at least one input device, suchas a mouse, a touch-sensitive pad, a pointer, a stylus, a trackball, abutton, e.g., alphanumeric, a scroll wheel, a touch-sensitive monitor,etc., or a combination thereof, for users to enter commands and/orinformation relevant to the system's services. With the general purposetype client devices 113, such as the PC or PDA, users may access theservices provided by the system 100, e.g., the remote computer 118, witha browser or any other generic application, or with special purposesoftware designed specifically for accessing and providing the servicesdisclosed herein.

In at least one embodiment, the system 100 provides one or more levelsof service. In a first level, a base-level, players are not required toregister in order to participate in gameplay. In the base-level, theservice may include the ability for the base-level user to play the game(e.g., entering a box office prediction) and to view the results ofprevious play(s) (e.g., the results of previous predictions, such as aprevious week's predictions). Those who want to take advantage of thefull game-experience, including reviewing related content, appearing onthe Leader Board, or win prizes will need to register and select aunique username.

In at least one embodiment, the system 100 provides allows users to playa box office game in which, players submit predictions for a value ofvariable associated with a film achieving a certain level at a latertime. For example, each week players may have the opportunity to submitweekend box office estimates for a selected group of a plurality of,e.g., five, films representing new releases for the upcoming weekendand/or major holdovers. Players preferably earn points when theirestimates come close to the actual value of the variable at the latertime. The closer the estimate to the actual, the greater the amount ofpoints may be awarded. For example, predictions may be awarded 1 pointif they are within 25%, 2 points if they are within 10%, and 3 points ifthey hit the nail on the head, i.e., the prediction is essentially equalto the actual value of the variable.

For example, if the actual weekend box office is:

Charlotte's Web $55,600,000 Eragon $17,300,000 Night at the Museum$62,900,000 Rocky Balboa $18,400,000 We are Marshall $24,700,000

Then:

Trader A Charlotte's Web $66,100,000 Eragon $26,200,000 Night at theMuseum $76,000,000 Rocky Balboa  $9,200,000 We are Marshall $24,700,000

Trader B Charlotte's Web $55,000,000 Eragon $18,400,000 Night at theMuseum $61,200,000 Rocky Balboa $28,100,000 We are Marshall $20,600,000

In this instance, Trade A earns 5 points for his/her predictions, 3 forWe Are Marshall, and 1 each for Charlotte's Web and Night of the Museum,and Trader B earns 7 points, 2 each for Charlotte's Web, Eragon, andNight of the Museum, and 1 for We Are Marshall.

In one embodiment, players may enter their estimates of the upcomingweekend's box office for the selected films in an interface screen thatincludes a listing of the selected films and a box or other form elementto the left or otherwise adjacent to each listed title, as shown in FIG.2, for players to enter predictions. The listing may include a briefdescriptive snippet of the film and a link to the other pages thatexplain how to play the game plus any necessary legal notifications.

The listed titles may be a list of “Hot 5!” films—representing the topwide release films and major holdovers, which may be listed inalphabetical order. Players will preferably be able to enter thepredicted weekend box office in millions in the form element, to onedecimal point. Thus, $21,100,000 would be represented as $21.1 M. Once aplayer is satisfied with his/her entries he/she will press a Play orother button, which will communicate the predictions to the system 100.

Various point schemes may be used in scoring players performance. In oneembodiment, a listing of movie pairs may be communicated to players,e.g., 5 movie pairs. Players may thereafter predict which of the twomovie pairs had or will have a greater box office revenue, e.g., for theopening weekend. Each selection is preferably time so that the playerhas a limited amount of time, e.g., 20 seconds, to select one of each ofthe communicated pair. After each selection of one of the movie pairs,the next of the movie pair may be communicated and/or displayed insuccession for the player's selection. Alternatively, instead ofselecting one of two movie pairs, players may be asked to select acertain number, e.g., 5, of the top films based on opening or otherweekend revenues. Total score may, in these instances, be the total ofthe correct selections for a session or multiple sessions.

In one embodiment, a database or other application may then be used tocreate remotely a unique identifier for the player and store thatidentifier in a cookie or other data file on the player's computer. Theunique identifier is preferably computer generated, without any directinvolvement from the player. That is, the unique identifier may berandomly generated by the system 100. Additionally, the system 100 maygenerate the unique identifier using player specific data as a seed orotherwise. For example, a mac address or IP address assigned to a clientcomputer associated with the unregistered user may be set as the uniqueID or used as a basis for the unique ID. The unique identifier may laterbe used to check the results of the game. That is, the unique identifiermay be used to query a game database for the particular player's latestpredictions and the results of any previous predictions. Prior to theclose of the game, the results of the query may be used to populate aninterface screen that compares the player's predictions to that of thecurrent average of other player's predictions, as shown in FIG. 3. Whenthe player returns to the site the following week, following the closeof the game, the player may be shown an interface screen with theresults of previous predictions shown therein, such as the screen shownin FIG. 4, which includes a comparison of the player's prediction to theactual box office value. FIG. 4 may generally be used for casual playerswho have not registered, which may display an hit or miss, or other noteindicating whether or not the particular player predicted a value withina certain range to be considered a hit, e.g., such as +/−1%, 2%, . . . ,25%.

A game that does not require a log in, i.e., relying on cookies to trackplayer activity, has technical considerations. First, players that donot accept cookies or that delete them will either be unable to play thegame or see their results without registration. Second, players who login from a computer different from the one they made their predictions onwill not be able to see their results. Therefore, registered gameplaymay be desired by certain players. Registration generally entails havingthe player set a login ID and password, which may be used to query thedatabase for player specific data, such as latest predictions and theresults of any previous predictions. Moreover, registered players may bedirected to a page that contains additional information, such as aLeader Board that includes a listing of players from the plurality ofplayers that are participating in playing the game with best scores forthe week or cumulative for a period of time and the player's overall ortotal score. In certain embodiments, players may be given an opportunityto exchange points for a prize or similar benefits. Therefore,registered players may be directed to a page that provides a prizestatus and form and other elements for the player to exchange points forprizes. The interface may further include a “research” link that directsregistered or other players to content on HSX.com or another researchsite or sites that may assist the players in their predictions. Theresearch site(s) may provide news, reviews and interviews from contentproviders, plus estimates from the HSX prediction market and links toassociated HSX MovieStock® pages.

The registration process will preferably be a brief process that meetsTRUSTe standards for use of Personally Identifiable Information (PII).Registration may be limited to those age 13 and over. Other agerestrictions may be applied, if necessary, to meet prize or advertisingsponsor requirements. Registered players may also be able to track theirpicks from week to week, compare their weekly and seasonal totalsagainst other players, communicate with other players via postingboards, and participate in any prize offerings.

While the foregoing invention has been described in some detail forpurposes of clarity and understanding, it will be appreciated by oneskilled in the art, from a reading of the disclosure, that variouschanges in form and detail can be made without departing from the truescope of the invention in the appended claims.

1. (canceled)
 2. A method, comprising: receiving, by at least oneprocessor, from an unregistered player via a first computing device inuse by the unregistered player, a first prediction for a variableassociated with a first plurality of events; automatically generating,by the least one processor, a unique identifier for the unregisteredplayer based on a computing identifier pre-associated with the firstcomputing device in use by the unregistered player, and storing theunique identifier on the first computing device; receiving, by the leastone processor, from a registered player via a second computing device, asecond prediction for the variable associated with the first pluralityof events; after termination of the first plurality of events,transmitting, by the least one processor, via communication circuitry, aresult of the first prediction and the second prediction to the firstand second computing devices for display thereon, respectively; andtransmitting, by the least one processor, to the first and secondcomputing devices a listing of a second plurality of events including afirst event distinct from the first plurality of events, and a holdoverevent previously included in the first plurality of events, for whichthe unregistered player and registered player enter third and fourthpredictions, respectively, for at least the holdover event.
 3. Themethod of claim 2, wherein the computing identifier pre-associated withthe first computing device includes a Media Access Control (MAC)address, and wherein the unique identifier for the unregistered playeris generated based at least partially on the MAC address of the firstcomputing device.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein the computingidentifier pre-associated with the first computing device includes anInternet Protocol (IP) address assigned to the first computing device,and wherein the unique identifier for the unregistered player isgenerated based at least partially on the IP address of the firstcomputing device.
 5. The method of claim 2, further comprising:transmitting, by the least one processor, to the second computer deviceof the registered player a listing of players participating inpredictions for at least one of the first or second plurality of eventsfor display on the second computing device, wherein the listing ofplayers includes display of the unique identifier of the unregisteredplayer, and a pre-generated unique identifier for the registered player.6. The method of claim 5, wherein the listing of players is transmittedonly to registered players.
 7. The method of claim 2, wherein thevariable includes a box office revenue, and wherein the first pluralityof events includes a plurality of films.
 8. The method of claim 7,wherein the first and second predictions predict the box office revenuefor each of the plurality of films over a predesignated amount of time.9. The method of claim 8, wherein the predesignated amount of timeincludes one or more days corresponding to an opening of at least one ofthe plurality of films.
 10. The method of claim 2, further comprisingcausing, by the at least one processor, an interface screen to bedisplayed to the first and second computing devices, wherein theinterface screen includes a listing of the first plurality of events,and form elements to which inputs are receivable to indicate predictionsfor each of the first plurality of events.
 11. The method of claim 2,wherein results of predictions are analyzed in order to determine aranking order of registered and unregistered players based on scorecalculated from prediction accuracy for each of the registered andunregistered players, and wherein a scoreboard list of the registeredand unregistered players is transmitted only to the registered players.12. An apparatus, comprising: at least one processor; communicationcircuitry; and memory storing instructions, wherein the instructions areexecutable by the at least one processor to cause the apparatus to:receive from an unregistered player via a first computing device in useby the unregistered player a first prediction for a variable associatedwith a first plurality of events; automatically generate a uniqueidentifier for the unregistered player based on a computing identifierpre-associated with the first computing device in use by theunregistered player, and cause the unique identifier to be stored on thefirst computing device; receive from a registered player via a secondcomputing device a second prediction for the variable associated withthe first plurality of events; after termination of the first pluralityof events, transmit via the communication circuitry a result of thefirst prediction and the second predication to the first and secondcomputing devices for display thereon, respectively; and transmit to thefirst and second computing devices a listing of a second plurality ofevents including a first event distinct from the first plurality ofevents, and a holdover event previously included in the first pluralityof events, for which the unregistered player and registered player enterthird and fourth predictions, respectively, for at least the holdoverevent.
 13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the computing identifierpre-associated with the first computing device includes a Media AccessControl (MAC) address, and wherein the unique identifier for theunregistered player is generated based at least partially on the MACaddress of the first computing device.
 14. The apparatus of claim 12,wherein the computing identifier pre-associated with the first computingdevice includes an Internet Protocol (IP) address assigned to the firstcomputing device, and wherein the unique identifier for the unregisteredplayer is generated based at least partially on the IP address of thefirst computing device.
 15. The apparatus of claim 12, in which theinstructions are further executable by the at least one processor tocause the apparatus to: transmit to the second computer device of theregistered user a listing of players participating in predictions for atleast one of the first or second plurality of events for display on thesecond computing device, wherein the listing of players includes displayof the unique identifier of the unregistered player, and a pre-generatedunique identifier for the registered player.
 16. The apparatus of claim15, wherein the listing of players is transmitted only to registeredplayers.
 17. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the variable includes abox office revenue, and wherein the first plurality of events includes aplurality of films.
 18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the first andsecond predictions predict the box office revenue for each of theplurality of films over a predesignated amount of time.
 19. Theapparatus of claim 18, wherein the predesignated amount of time includesone or more days corresponding to an opening of at least one of theplurality of films.
 20. The apparatus of claim 12, in which theinstructions are further executable by the at least one processor tocause the apparatus to: cause an interface screen to be displayed to thefirst and second computing devices, wherein the interface screenincludes a listing of the first plurality of events, and form elementsto which inputs are receivable to indicate predictions for each of thefirst plurality of events.
 21. The apparatus of claim 12, whereinresults of predictions are analyzed in order to determine a rankingorder of registered and unregistered players based on score calculatedfrom prediction accuracy for each of the registered and unregisteredplayers, and wherein a scoreboard list of the registered andunregistered players is transmitted only to the registered players.